Studies have shown that Vitamin E exhibits many beneficial properties, such as anti-oxidant and anti-cancer properties, and is able to reduce blood pressure and blood cholesterol, prevent skin ageing and fat oxidation. Due to its numerous health related properties, Vitamin E has been widely used in the manufacture of many health supplements, pharmaceutical products and cosmetics. In addition, Vitamin E is also widely utilized in animal feeds due to its anti-sterility properties. With the increasing demand for Vitamin E supply, there is a pressing need to develop an efficient method, technique or process to provide sufficient Vitamin E to meet the demand of the market.
Currently, Vitamin E available in the market is generally produced via chemical and/or physical processes from natural sources, such as palm oil, soybean oil, avocado, wheat germ and vegetable oils. The currently available methods utilize expensive raw materials and/or catalysts and involve use of complicated separation procedures. In most cases, the yield of Vitamin E from such production procedures is usually unsatisfactory relative to the production cost. Techniques used in the separation of Vitamin E from natural sources also present similar problems and drawbacks. Specifically, as the amount of Vitamin E present in natural sources is relatively low, the separation methods involve a series of complicated procedures, such as enzyme catalysis, transesterification, saponification, and sophisticated laboratory techniques, such as molecular distillation, column chromatography, and supercritical fluid extraction. Hence, the time and cost of production of Vitamin E can be undesirable depending upon production technique.
Given the increasing demand for Vitamin E, a need exists for a Vitamin E production technique that is substantially faster, simpler, cost-effective, and involves lower energy consumption.